Favorite Quotes

I decided to add some of my favorite quotes to a few photos I've taken this past month.

From my road trip this past Monday... Hwy 46 near Cambria, California

Also from my road trip this past Monday... Hwy 1 near Big Sur

Daisies from the farmers market :)

Garlic Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

These potatoes are so incredibly delicious!  They have that wonderful caramelized roasted flavor on the outside, but the insides have the texture of mashed potatoes.  They are that creamy inside.  They are super easy to make, so you can add these to your weeknight dinner side ideas.

Ingredients:

8 Yukon Gold potatoes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
Kosher salt
Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Clean and dry potatoes. Cut into quarters. Place in a baking dish. Combine in a small dish the olive oil, butter, garlic and parsley. Pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt and pepper.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes. During the last minute or so place under a broiler set on low to brown them up even more and add some extra crispness.

After I made these I was thinking that rosemary would be really delicious with these potatoes as well.  I think I'll add that next time. :)

That's it. Enjoy them!



Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

Interviewing Family Members

I've been working on collecting stories of my family members.  This has been such a fun experience, getting to hear all of the things that happened in their lives, and listening to how happy it makes them to relive those fun memories.  I think it's very important to preserve these memories and have them to look back on, and to share with our children and grandchildren.

Left: My grandmother, Marie.  Right: My grandfather, Calvin, with his siblings.

My son and I have recently been working on our family tree, collecting all sorts of information, and there are lots and lots of questions we still have.  We were able to find a lot of documents and photos, but the stories that our ancestors could have told, that would be priceless right now.  That got me to thinking that I want more than a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a photo; I want to hear their stories.

I did some research and gathered many different questions from all over the place to ask .  Attached are the questions I've been asking.  You can, of course, add/omit questions that fit your family members, but I think this will be a good start.

I've been recording the conversation with my family member, so that I have that audio of them as well, and also taking notes throughout.  You don't have to get the audio, but I thought I'd share that with you as well in case you want to do that.  I love getting to go back and listen to them talk.

Another good idea is to ask them for their favorite family recipe.  And if you can get them to handwrite it for you, that's even better!

So get out there and start interviewing your family members, spend quality time with them, and preserve those special memories and stories they have to tell. 
Family Tree Interview Questions

Makeup Brush Cleaning and Storage Tips

Each weekend there's that one extra chore that I never feel like doing, but if I don't I will definitely notice it on my face when it starts to break out. It's so important to keep your makeup brushes clean to avoid breakouts, and, well, dirty brushes are just gross.

As I use my brushes during the week I do spritz them with some anti-bacterial brush cleaner and wipe them on a clean washcloth after each use. But as the week goes on some of the makeup builds up in the brushes and the spray just isn't going to cut it. So here's how I go about deep cleaning my makeup brushes at the end of the week.

All you really need is some baby shampoo, a clean towel and some anti-bacterial spray like this one...

The other thing that is very helpful but not necessary are brush guards. These help keep the shape of your brushes and eliminate that fraying of hairs thing that often goes on with makeup brushes. I personally can't live without them now. They come in different sizes so they will fit the tiniest to the biggest brush. They look like this:

What you want to do is get all of your brushes together near a sink.  Start by putting a very small amount of baby shampoo in the palm of your hand.  Take one brush at a time and gently rub it in the baby shampoo, over your palm, as if you were mixing paint on a palette.  Lay the brush on a clean paper towel.  Do this with each of your brushes, laying them all out on the paper towel.

Now you will take each brush and run them under warm water, using your fingers to rinse the shampoo out.  I do this as quickly as possible as to not waste much water.  So this will go by very quickly.  Keep the brush facing downward so that you don't get water in the ferrule, otherwise it will get water up in there and loosen the glue, which will cause your brush to come apart over time.  As you rinse each one out, squeeze the excess water from the brush hairs and lay them on a clean, dry towel.

Next you will take each brush and gently wipe it back and forth on the clean, dry towel, getting as much water out of each one as you can. You will then give one spritz of the anti-bacterial brush cleaner to each brush. Then add the brush guard (if you are using them).

To dry the brushes... for eye brushes, I just stand them up to dry as there are not as many hairs as face brushes and I don't run as much risk for water to run down into the ferrule. With face brushes though, you want to lay them on their side off the edge of a table or counter to dry, so the water doesn't run back down into the brush ferrule. Like so...

For really dense brushes, like kabuki type ones, you will probably want to eliminate the use of a brush guard, as I find it takes way too long for them to dry when I do that. These types of brushes usually hold their shape just fine.

That's it! Your brushes will be all clean and soft again.

Here is how I store my brushes. I just purchased an acrylic holder from Staples, in the desk supply aisle.

At Michael's or Jo-Ann's you can purchase the bead fill like you see here.  It allows the brushes to stand up and is soft enough to get them in and out of the holder easily.

I hope this helps you with cleaning your brushes. I have found that it really is the best way for me. I would love to hear any other suggestions you have for cleaning brushes.

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay

Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. These daisies that I picked up at the farmer's market over a week ago are still going strong.  You can't go wrong with bright, cheery daisies that last forever.  Makes me smile every time I look at them.

2. This book really makes you think and is very inspiring.  One quote that really hit me was, “Don’t look for the next opportunity. The one you have in hand is the opportunity.” I have been working on practicing this and I have to say it's one of the best things I ever did.  Another that really hit me was, “When it can’t be done, do it. If you don’t do it, it doesn’t exist.” He also says, “A new idea can be either unfamiliar, or silly, or both. It can’t be judged by description. It needs to be done (made) to exist.”  He's one smart fella, that Mr. Arden. :)

3. Just love it!

4. My favorite smoothie lately - 8 or so strawberries, half a banana, half a peach, 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup orange juice, ice cubes.  Blend it all together and you have yourself one delicious smoothie.  And anything you put in a mason jar just tastes better. ;)

5. Trader Joe's Kettle Corn: Sweet, salty, delicious, cheap, and addicting!!! 

Greek Orzo Salad

A delicious summer salad bursting with flavor.  This is a staple at my house all summer long; it goes perfectly with anything off the grill or just on its own.  And the longer you let it sit after making it the better it gets, so definitely make enough for leftovers the next day!

If you want the perfect salad for a picnic or outdoor party, you can leave the feta out and not worry about the salad spoiling. 

 

1 box of Orzo pasta
1 small pack of cherry or grape tomatoes

1 half medium red onion, chopped

1 regular sized cucumber or half of a long cucumber (like the Japanese ones),   

   peeled and diced

1/4 cup sliced pepperoncinis

4 oz. of feta cheese, crumbled (I like the herb flavored feta cheeses)

1 tsp. Cavender’s or McCormick Greek Seasoning 

1/2 tsp. dried Greek oregano

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of two lemons

1/4 cup good quality white wine vinegar

1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling over pasta

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add about a tablespoon of sea salt to the water, then add the orzo.  Stir.  Cook the orzo 9 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drain and rinse immediately with cold water to stop the cooking process.  Put in a bowl and drizzle with a little of the olive oil to keep from sticking together.

Cut the tomatoes in halves (unless they're really small, then you can leave them whole), chop the red onion and cucumber to about the same size (or whatever size you want) to keep the salad uniform.  I remove the seeds from the cucumber before chopping.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the pasta and toss.  Add vegetables to the bowl of pasta, along with pepperoncinis, and toss.

In a measuring cup or bowl, add the juice of one lemon, vinegar, garlic, Greek seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper.  Whisk in olive oil.  Pour over the pasta and vegetables and toss together gently.  Then add the feta cheese last and fold it into the salad.  If you like olives, add black Greek olives as well. 

That's it!  Enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay